Liam Neeson finds himself in familiar trouble in the new action thriller, Cold Pursuit. Nels (Liam Neeson) is an unassuming snowplow driver with a wife (Laura Dern) and a son, Kyle (Micheál Richardson). When the son turns up dead via an overdose, Nels is devastated and on the brink of suicide. It is in that darkest moment that Nels learns that his son did not, in fact, overdose. Instead, he was the victim of murder and the hands of a heartless group of people. The man ultimately responsible is powerful drug dealer named Trevor ‘Viking’ Calcote (Tom Bateman).
As Nels attempts to exact his revenge, he won’t let anyone get in his way of finding justice. Since he’s not a violent man by nature, Nels must learn and adapt on the fly. As it turns out, he’s a natural at this sort of thing and the bad guys are going to find this out in the worst ways possible. As Nels climbs his way to the Viking kingpin, this snow covered area is going to become a bloody ground zero for all sorts of mayhem to play out. While there’s no way to bring his son back, Nels will do his best to make sure these men can never hurt anyone else.
Liam Neeson’s name has become synonymous with family revenge flicks. The difference with Cold Pursuit is that Neeson’s character Nels has no particular set of skills to speak of that would intimidate his new enemies. This is just an old fashioned blunt force revenge flick that will undoubtedly drive up the body count. This role is a welcome relief in that Neeson does not appear to be some sort of super human. Even though there’s lots of violence, it’s done in a more subdued fashion that doesn’t involve skills obtained from being an assassin or something.
Cold Pursuit is laughable at times, well at many times. Some of this is by design (apparently) and some just happens to be funny for what it is. The feel of this movie is very odd in that it uses unconventional dark humor sporadically throughout. You’ll find yourself wondering if certain scenes were designed for laughter or were they just that ridiculous. With Neeson involved it’s tough to know when he’s trying to be funny.
Cold Pursuit is actually an English-speaking remake of In Order of Disappearance (2014), also known as Kraftidioten. The Norwegian film and this new film were both directed by Hans Petter Moland, so he has firsthand knowledge of what the tone should be here. The fact that there is so much familiarity makes for a tricky remake since not everything translates perfectly between movies. And it is because of this that this new version misses its mark sometimes and it feels like a rough translation. I suppose so long as you are aware that this is meant to be sort of a dark comedy, things won’t seem so over the top. I’ve seen soap operas with less campiness.
The one good thing about Cold Pursuit is that puts Liam Neeson in a role that is definitely more believable. He’s getting up there in age, so maybe running around handling people that are 25 years his junior should maybe be retired. Then again, Clint Eastwood is still a badass in most of his “advanced years” roles. The co-stars of this film are inconsequential with the focus being mostly on Neeson. There is a Native-American angle that comes in to play and that assists in shifting gears and bringing in another layer.
Try as they may, Cold Pursuit isn’t as action filled and polished as some of Neeson’s other flicks. Temper your expectations if you should decide to see this in theaters. The story is clunky, the acting is “B-movie plus” quality and the story is kind of boring. If you’re a stickler to details, there are a few unfinished areas to the plot that might drive you batty. Just be happy that movie isn’t any longer than it already is. I say skip this one in theaters, or at the very least, go for a matinee. There will definitely be some conflicting opinions on this one depending on what you’re looking to get out of it.
